Under daring suggestions put up by the Commons Speaker, the Thames’ tidal power may be exploited to assist Parliament in coping with the cost-of-living issue.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle has requested specialists working on the vast, protracted project to renovate the Palace of Westminster to assess if it is feasible to harness the river that runs by the Grade I-listed building’s hydroelectric potential.
One proposal for lowering energy expenses on the legislative estate, a World Heritage Site, is reportedly to investigate placing hydroelectric turbines beside the renowned Commons Terrace.
After Liz Truss said she was relaxing the fracking prohibition as part of the government’s reaction to the energy crisis, the Speaker’s ideas became public.
The prohibition that has been in effect since 2019 will be removed in regions where local residents accept the technology, the incoming Prime Minister said MPs.
The Thames at Westminster is not deep enough to put a turbine, according to people close to Sir Lindsay.
It could be too shallow at the House of Lords end, but it’s considerably deeper at the Commons end, according to one.
Allies also noted the installation of hydroelectric generators at Windsor Castle and at the cherished Balmoral by the late Queen.
She overcame local council opposition two years ago to get approval for a turbine at Balmoral that was anticipated to produce electricity valued at £650,000 year, enough to power the estate with a possible surplus to be sold to the National Grid.
Some experts, however, cast doubt on Sir Lindsay’s proposal, with one stating that a terrace-side turbine would likely only provide enough electricity to boil a kettle.
The river outside of the Commons is too shallow for a turbine to be useful, according to Neil Kermode of the European Marine Energy Centre.
It is around two metres deep at low tide, so that would restrict the size of machineries, he added.
Given the enormous tidal range and significant silt load of the Thames, the Port of London Authority said that “current technology is not well adapted to ecosystems like the Thames.”
Concerns have also been raised regarding how a turbine may affect river navigation.
Even while the friends of the Speaker acknowledged that it was not yet obvious “if it would even be viable” to build a turbine, they argued that the concept should at least be looked into.